Surprises

Last Wednesday was the ugliest of days for me. No make up, crazy top bun, and chances are I was wearing Matts clothes. So when the doorbell rings at 10 at night a girl doesn't jump to answer. And when her mom tells her to answer she says no.

But its probably pretty good that I did. There stands Haliaka and her husband Matt. Cue freakout. A serious freakout for a really long time. And I may have peed a bit. I literally don't think I have ever been so surprised! I was absolutely thrilled. Haliaka is honestly like a sister to me. We clicked our first year at BYU and have been a giggly mess since. Last time I saw her was over a year ago at her wedding, and before that, another year- at my wedding. And we all know wedding get-togethers are the best place to catch up so it was soooooo nice to be able to spend the weekend together and just hang out. Also- how sneaky!! Her and my sweet mother had been planning this surprise visit for months- it may have been the only thing that could possibly take my mind off of waiting for a baby. Such great timing.

I couldn't sleep that night because of the excitement levels. I am sort of pathetic. And childish. But I was up the next morning at 6 and it took all of my will power not to run upstairs and jump on Haliaka and Matts bed and start some sort of adventure.

Matt came home from Airdre early so we could all hang out. On Thursday night we went on our first of many double dates. Haliaka and I had been day dreaming of this day for years. And it went very well. Our Matts got a long so well- they have so many similarities its kinda crazy.

Friday morning was raining like crazy. But there isn't a lot to do in southern Alberta- so we couldn't let a little precipitation interfere with our plan to go to Waterton. It was a soppy trip but a success. We spent some time in the Prince of Wales, went out for lunch, lots of drives, tried to go on a 1 km hike but got so wet we had to turn around (being 9 months prego and wearing flip flops also didn't help the situation), obviously got some ice cream, and saw 3 bears!

                                            

We get home... and the living room is full of balloons and decorations. A surprise baby shower whaaaaaatt?! Cue freak out round 2. The theme was Dr. Suess and it was stinkin ADORABLE. There were books everywhere and a cute banner that Haliaka had made. There was "green" deviled eggs and ham that Matts mom and Linds had made. Mom had made some "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" cupcakes with big puffs of blue cotton candy on the top. Everything was so cute. Except for me. I looked like a wet rat. 15 min to get ready before people start coming. Ready go.

I didnt take a darn picture the whole night. It made my heart hurt. Thank you Ashley for all of these! I owe you.

                                     

I am one lucky girl. So many people were so generous and sweet and Matt, homegirl, and I got so spoiled. Why are miniature anythings so much cuter than regular sized? Melts my heart. After the shower I finally started to feel like we were ready for the babe.

Saturday we hung out at Matts house and then went for Poutine at Red Dog Diner. We spent the afternoon playing games and then Matt and Haliaka made homemade pizza for us. Yum.

So basically it was the best weekend ever. I super love surprises. And got 2 of the best surprises ever within days of each other. My mom says now its my turn to surprise and have a baby.

Matt leaves for Cleveland tomorrow afternoon and will be back Monday night. I plan on standing on my head for the entire time he is gone.

As of today I am at 39 weeks. My hands and feet couldn't get fatter. They have creases on them where the skin is being stretched to the limit. Are stretch marks possible on ones hand?  I have been reading a book called Hypnobirthing that has helped to calm me down about the whole birthing thing- a lot. Dont worry that for weeks my dad thought I was reading Hypobirthing.

My hospital bag is packed, I have tested Matt multiple times on all the things he needs to remember to tell the nurses/Dr incase I forget, and homegirls red minky/cheetah blanket is done. What else does a girl need right? So come Tuesday I think we will be ready for this babe to show up.

36.5 weeks

In a few short days I will have a fully cooked baby inside of me!!

I feel like there is so much I still need to get ready and do before she comes. But I cant think of what. Sooo to make myself feel better I make a ridiculous amount of headbands. Super helpful for sustaining life.

This summer has been consumed by 1- Baby and 2- Dental school applications. Last week Matt got interview invites to not 1, but 2 schools!! We are super duper excited. They are both great schools that Matt would love to go to. One is in Ohio and the other is in Florida... I wouldn't be mad if we lived in Florida for 4 years.
Bad news is... one of these said interviews is Aug 12th. Remember my due date? Its Aug 17th. 5 days people!! The likelihood that I will be in labour while hubs is in freaking Ohio is not low. I seriously pray every day that she will come any day but that day. He is flying out late on the 11th and coming back right after his interview on the 12th.  We are livin' on the edge folks.

I still feel pretty darn good... minus the pills I have to take because of the root canal I just had. Those a little bit make me feel like a bus ran over my stomach.

On the way home from Cold Lake on Monday we decided we were finally going to name this babe. We didn't... but we came up with a solid list of 7 "finalist" names. We keep hearing that sometimes you need to see them before you really pick a name... true? Im not sure how it could be, but thats what we are counting on. Middle names are still up in the air. We haven't even decided how many lil homegirl will have, let alone what they/it will be.

On Tuesday we got to talk to Nicole while she was at the airport waiting to go to Reno. And yesterday we got 3 letters from her. Apparently the mail man decided to keep all her MTC letters until then. And her Mission President emailed mom and dad and attached a letter from her. She is doing so good... its kind of amazing how good. She has endless stories of pranks she has pulled on the elders and her MTC roommates. And she is full of so many little nuggets of great advice and such a good perspective on life.

34 Weeks

2 posts in 1 day? Dang, self.

It seems that we are ACTUALLY having a baby people. Its all getting real, and quick, and I now understand the term nesting.

In the last 24 hours I have gone through all of her clothes for the 2nd time, washed them, found them a spot in the closet, sewed 3 headbands, 1 skirt, bought a few binkies, and spent a few too many hours  researching diaper bags, rearranged out bedroom, and scrubbed the entire bathroom.

I have only really had one craving, vanilla soft serve ice cream. And I have it often. Is that a craving or just a fatty quality? I dont know. But I cant get enough of the stuff. Matt doesn't complain. He might when his wife has gained 50 lbs... but as of right now he likes it.

My doctors appointments have been up-ed to once a week. I remember at my first appointment when they told me that would happen... and it seemed forever away. Here we are. And from what I hear the appointments are about to get a little more "exciting".

Homegirl is a dang ninja in there. Its the weirdest thing in the world to see your watermelon belly move out of the corner of your eye. Or to have the book your reading jump because it gets smacked by some little body part. She only seems to get the hiccups when its time to sleep. And for the last few days she likes to ram little body parts into my left hip. Im not sure if thats possible, but its sure what it feels like.

Overall, I have felt really good. The nausea/back ache that were the first semester havent returned (knock on wood) and I can still flush public toilets with my foot so I really have nothing to complain about..... except.... for the HEAT. I am seriously cooking from the inside out.

We do have one problem however... naming the babe. Its getting more stressful as the days go on. Matt is 100% sold on one name...which makes all of my suggestions useless. We are taking suggestions. Seriously. Good, not overly-used, not overly-weird, spellable, cute suggestions :)

In our prenatal class the instructor asked "where is the worse place for a woman to be in stage 1 labour?" the answer she got?.... "The States" And its kind of true. Tomorrow we are going to Babb MT, which I have been told by some insurance companies is "very risky". But there is huckleberry ice cream there sooooo its worth the risk. Mom wants to go on a walk around a lake "without any elevation" (I have heard THAT one before). Pops thinks I shouldn't be doing that "in my condition". I will try to convince them to let me take one for the team and sit on my butt and wait for them at the ice cream shop.

Sister Smith

Nicole came back from her Spring Semester a few weeks ago and it has been a whirlwind since! I laugh more with that girl than is tolerable to most around us. We started every morning she was here with a "breakfast party"and came up with some delish foods. One of the days the whole fam headed to Cardston for some "mission pictures".

Our trusty helper

After pictures we had a fire on Smith owned land. Which is rare. As in it had never happened. Pops is particular about his land and only Nicole suggesting it a week before leaving on her mission could convince him to dig up a chunk of it and start a big ol bonfire. A direct quote from dad to Nicole "You can get away with just about anything until you leave". In my opinion she should have taken advantage of that more than she did.

Grandma, Bud, Aunt Judy, and Aunt Tonya came up for Nicoles farewell. There was a lot of things to get ready so we spend a lot of time setting up chairs (by "we" I guess I mean "they"... I was less than helpful) and cutting buns. But we had lots of fun with them in the short time they were here. We went to some horse races, a baseball game, and had a insane game of pictionary.

For some reason kissy pose seemed like their best option 

                                      

The next week we expanded our meal "parties" to lunch and dinner. Nicole said their was something wrong with mom and dads scale because it told her she had gained 10 lbs since she left BYU. Im not sure that was the case. Sister sympathy prego weight? 

Last weekend we went to West Castle for our last family trip for a year and a half. We couldn't go too far because of my "condition" as my family calls it. My mom kept talking about how the group is only as strong as the weakest link.... I obviously being the weakest link. Ouch my heart. Not really. We got to stay in a really nice cabin, which is my kind of camping. We bobbed around in some unbelievably cold water, had a good bonfire, and played an insane amount of games- and dad hates games- back to the "get away with anything" theory.

This last week was mostly spend packing and getting the child ready to live out of a suitcase for a year and half. She was way past her 8 outfit limit..... but really, how hard would that be?!? Monday night we went to Despicable Me 2... twice, because the first time it was sold out. That was really the only thing she really wanted to do before she left... and shoot a gopher.

That night there was a bit of a baby scare and mother and I hung out at the hospital until 3 am. All is well and it seems I am just a bit on the nervous side, but it resulted in Nicoles last day here being a pretty groggy one. This is a crazy summer for the Smiths I tell you.

Nicole hates goodbyes more than anything, and decided she would rather fly out of Lethbridge rather than have us drive down to the MTC. She flew out at 5:30 am yesterday morning. I have been dreading that since the moment she told me she wanted to go on a mission almost a year ago. But it wasn't nearly as devastating as I thought it was going to be. There were no ugly cry snorts or year long hugs. She looked more excited than nervous and as far as I could tell her tears were gone by the time she got through security. 

Breakfast this morning was less than a party... and I have gone to text the kid about 10 times today... but I know that what she is doing is so important and right and that there is no place better for her to be for the next 18 months than teaching the people in Nevada.

And dont worry, Mom and I have both a package and a postcard that we are sending off to her tomorrow. No sense in wasting any time right?

Smith Land Tour 2013

We have once again made the motherland our home. And have already been here for almost a month, in which time:

~ I have attended 2 pre-natal classes with my mother
~ I have spent 7 hours in doctors offices
~ I have dad to have my father save me from a spider 3 times
~ I have said goodbye to Matt 4 times, each time with more waterworks than the last
~ I have got asked by a homeless man downtown if I "had any extra skates" he could have. Skates?
~ I have planted countless vegetables in the back yard
~ I have not seen any form of life from any of those seeds mentioned above
~ I have become addicted to Dragons Den and Judge Judy
~ Mom and I have tested out a water aerobics class... and have not returned
~ I have been forced to pack up every childhood memory I have and compact them into a few "bins". Which were then dropped off at "the barn". This gives me anxiety.
~ We have substituted for a primary class, with a little girl who insisted on making chicken noises for most of it

I have had a ton of fun with mom and dad during the weekdays. I thought there would be more "downtime", but we have been busy with all sorts of self-induced projects/activities. I live for Fridays when Matt comes home and even though out weekends have mostly been full of "to-do" lists I love them so much.

For the May long weekend we didn't really have any plans, but it ended up being a glorious few days. Matt got off work early on Friday and was here that morning :) We ran some errands, he took me to work, and then we went to a matinee. Any day where a matinee is possible, is a good day.

Saturday afternoon we headed out to "The Land" with mom and dad. And Matt finally got to meet the majority of the Smith homestead. After the tour we headed to Waterton. We got a delish hotdog, saw some rams, and a bear and called 'er a day.

Matts dad let me borrow his camera for the summer (mostly because Matt started thinking I needed to learn to take pictures once he heard all the plans I had for pictures of the babe. And I love taking pictures). Here are a few from that day.... mostly taken by Matt. Ironic.

Home on the Range

Checking out his dandelions

Cute Parents of mine

Pops needs his treats

"Shooting Stars" His favorite flower. This one cracks me up.

SOOOO many wild sunflowers. It was gorge.

Such a happy hubs

Dad throwing dirt clumps at mother. An old pioneer game?

She just couldn't get enough of the things

Stanky flower

Im big.

Another terribly hick game...

Sunday we had a BBQ at Matts house with a bunch of his family, and then played a wild game of Poleconomy. I got second. Not bad if you know how Lowrys play their games... but I want a rematch.

Monday Matt and I sat on the couch all dang day and worked on Dental School applications. Yawn.

Now for the baby update.
I went to the Dr yesterday and he showed me where here little butt was sticking out. Cute. I kept feeling for it all day. She isn't moving enough to keep me awake, but a lot more than she used to. Somedays she gets in a weird little position and I walk around with a lopsided belly. This is my last second trimester week- WHAT! Im really not sure how that happened. But I have been feeling so good. Even the back ache I had for months has gone away. I feel like I shouldn't have said that.... I probably jinxed things.

AMP

Tomorrow is my last day of work. Whaaaaaat

I seriously never thought the day would come. I started at AMP almost exactly a week after Matt and I got married. And have spent most of my days there since.

After how many times I have complained to Matt about my job, and the many terrible thoughts I have had about the place I thought that leaving would be a little more exciting than it is proving to be.

I think its mostly because of some of the people that I work with. I had to say goodbye to the girl I am the closest with today...and kind of hated that. Its fun to have friends at work that you see everyday and can talk about life things with the work things. Im also going to miss being the go to person that knows things. That sounds ridiculous... and kind of bratty actually. I don't mean it that way.

I think it might be the scariness of the future that is adding to my mixed feelings about leaving AMP. In a week we will be moved out, and moved into Mom and Dads basement... with nothing to do but grow a baby. Its all seeming more real... and closer than I though. Yes, yes, my due date isn't until the middle of August, but it still freaks a girl out.

In other news we had another ultrasound on Monday. Baby girl (why do I ALWAYS have the urge to call her homegirl?) is growing. She is now right on schedule with where she should be. And that fluid in her kidney has disappeared. Well- we think. We have a Drs appointment tomorrow to make sure but the tech told us its looking good.

Also, I have discovered some terribly amazing baby clothes websites. And made my first order last night. And might be in trouble. I can see how shopping for such things could become very addicting.

Ultrasound Time

Last Monday was ultrasound day.
I had been counting down for weeks and was beyond excited to find out the gender. But also super nervous. So many things that could go wrong! It had been a whole  month since we heard the heart beat... on and on and on. So nervous I didn't even want to tell anyone we had the ultrasound incase something did go wrong.

Since December Matt was 100% sure that baby was a girl. Like to the point he wouldn't even discuss boy names with me, he called "it" a she (which no matter what was better than calling baby an "it" like I was doing). I had no "feelings" about what baby would be. Like none. But that didn't seem like very much fun, so after a while I just started agreeing with him. Mostly because I was scared of having a boy- I swear I am not usually this big of a wimp about things, but children... kind of a big deal.
Then about 3 weeks before our appointment I decided there was a lil baby boy growing inside of me. I day dreamed about how I would give him comb overs for church and mohawks every other day of the week. I remembered how I have always wanted an older brother, and decided that if it really was a boy I would be able to figure things out.

I left work far before I needed to for the ultrasound... like they could expect me to sit there and work when I had a baby to see!
Turns out Matt was having the same impatient problem... when I got to the office he was already there waiting for me.

Im not really sure what I was expecting... but ultrasounds are stinking cool.  One of the first things we saw was the babies heart (sigh of relief). Im not exactly sure what we saw from there on... the tech tried to keep us up to speed but I was a hopeless student. A few min in I forgot what we were there to find out. It was mind-blowing. There is actually a mini human living inside of me! Im not sure I will ever come to terms with that.

Then the tech says, K ready to know what baby is?
Me: BAHHH!!! NO.... I donno!
Matt: Yes... were ready.

"Your having a little baby GIRL!"

I flipped out.

And continued flipping out periodically throughout the night.

Matt and I went for some subpar chinese food to celebrate and then called our parents to share our news.

I feel like a little girl is just the perfect fit  for both Matt and I. I can't wait to see Matt with our daughter. My heart melts every time I see him with any baby, but especially with little girls. I can't imagine the feelings Im going to have when its our little baby!!

At the ultrasound they had an option to buy the video of  the appointment. I couldn't resist. Here is a snipit, probably not too entertaining for most. But Matt and I are hypnotized by her tiny little body parts.

At our follow up Drs appointment she told us that our baby is measuring a little small so we have another ultrasound scheduled in 3 weeks to make sure she is growing properly. But I am pretty sure she has been growing a lot lately- the last few days I have felt her moving SO much. And the little pokes she is giving me are getting stronger and stronger. Seriously... bodies are amazing.

I have felt so much better than during the first trimester. I have so much more energy and don't feel like throwing up every 5 min.

Remember that one time a co-worker came back from a dentist appointment with a frozen face and the sight of him made me gag in his face? That was awkward.

There are still some crazy things happening though... like last week when Matt was gone and I was choking on a mini wheat. I was sure I was going to die I was coughing so hard. Instead I just peed my pants. Great way to start the day.

We have bought our stroller and crib... both of which sit in our living room. Nicole says its ominous. Every time we walk into Babies R' Us I get the same feeling I got when Haliaka and I snuck into the BYU Law school lunch;  like we shouldn't be there and that everyone is looking at us like children.

Remember how I talk about how fast life goes in every other blog post... well now its changed into super warp speed and I feel like its not going to be slowing down anytime soon.